The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-12-28

place 1t was eight hundred yards acroea
II was Q. plain Of broken rocks, withou
trees or grass, and had q Wild and desolat,
appearance, resembling moro the aatron
omers' photograph oflunar craters, thar
Of anything on earth. y ',r e.. - s'tFff
The ROCKS Of this plain are volcanic
called basalt; and this plain itself, as Il
we'll understood, Ia the channel, Of wa
river which was filled with lava pouree
Into 1t from volcano. This lava, at ont
time . mass Of glowing heat, Is now cole
and black. I passed several miles alont
the summit Of the mountain, over thll
crust Of lava, and observed many interest
Ing things concerning II. iai6llg' g.
| In the first place, 1t Beems that the lava
that flowed down that river and filled tt
channel as 1t now remains, did not flow az
masa OF molten iron would flow, bu,
rather as river full Of broken Ice, NOV.
Ing heavily along, crowdlng and gorging
as 1t went. . The condition that It IA now
In Hubstantiates this theory; for the plain
| IS not one vast solid rock, but is mass Of
sharp, angular rocks partly welded to.
Kesher,, some standing on edge, others
thrust in among Thorn, all In confusion.
The whole scene 10 exactly like a great ice
gorge In a river, where the channel has
been choked up, and the Ice has stopped,
filling the channel from bank to bank,
and the cakes of Ice piled upon one an.
other, thrust up edge wise, and hesped In
endless confusion together. IA A
Lam told that lava generally flows In
this manner; that Ia, IL, q half molten con-
dition, not liquid. 1have observed that
the irruptions OF Mt. Shasta present an
appearance similar to this OF Table Noun.
tain, except that the former Ia yellow and
the latter Is black. ..g.5,' - -
l could almost fancy myself BY that an.
cient river and looking at the flood Of lava
passing down. So recent Is every feature
Of It that 1t sesms to have stopped flowing
only yesterday. The volcanic delupe ike
mass Of broken Ice, passed alowly down
the channel OF the I!ver. could see In
some places where the half.molten rocks
had gorRed and piled up In drifts many
iees high, like ice piles up on bars and
islandn. Some OF these drifts ara of tre.
mendous magnitude, and rise above the
surrounding plain almost like ridges and
hills. The moving lava must then have
passed on one side or the other in the
deeper channels. The rocks that form
these drifts are forced up edge wise in Sham
lodges, showing what fearful force was
Drought to bear upon them. In other
places there are low depressions and hol.
love- where ,cayerns and fiery caves were
formed BY tho heated Laws, and when il
cooled, the roofs fell in. Ono of these low
places Is large enough to form the basin
OF lake, which IN summer is dry, but In
winter ia full Of rain water, and ia con.
Rrega.ing place for wild geese, -
In one. place, just above the Csslella
Valley, found the bank OF this ancient
river remaining. I may state that In most
places tho banks are not TO be eeon,
Along both sides Of the Table Mountaips
sre deep cayerns, which have undermined
the mountain even up under the edges Of
the lava crust that crowns it. Tins the
banks OF the river in most places have
n D worn away and have disappeared.
Bus IN one place, as said, above Castela
valley, found tho bank remaining, a
phenomenon that suggested scene OF
magnificent destruction was here present.
cd. must again liken it to a porOe OF
ice descending a river. Ice, in it's descent,
10 aometines forced entirely out OF the
channel, and lodges in drifts far upon the
shore. Just so had been the case with
this lava. 1t had bssn forced ont of the
channel by some violent commotion. and
had rolled far out upon the shore. and
tho fiery flood receding, had left il There.
There II is to-day, Diff. above drift. like
the dunes of aard on the beach Of, tbe
tho ocean. As ntood looking al tbe
scene, l fanced I could see the delupe Of
burning rocks moving down the stresn.
then rising in huge wavee, rolling .hirh
upon the shore, and then sinkine hack
into the channel. 0"eN
| met something strange and new every
step went. walked along the Main n
black rocks, all cemented together bnt
still each rock distinct from the other
They are exceedingly hard, and when
one strikes two Of them together. thew
ring like metal, or more like the "clint,
ers' in an old furnace. When thew are
broken, the surface is dark blue I'M Of
small holes, and covered with epots and
epangles which look like green glass. The
individual rocks which 80 to make up
this plain are usually from ten to ons
hundred pounds in weight. Some weigh
tons, some only pound. AS 1 said he
ROCKS are usually welded together.
II, N.